Mark Michaelis' Weblog - Personal|My Sports

Starting out the Year with a Run and a (Polar Bear) Swim

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 13:30:16 GMT

This new year is the second one for me that I start out with a run and a swim in the morning. There is nothing particularly special about either of these events except it has a kinda symbolism for starting out the year right.

New Year's Day was a little more challenging this year. It started out with a weather advisory from the National Weather Service for Spokane, WA area:

HEAVY RAINFALL COUPLED WITH MELTING SNOW WILL RESULT IN FLOODING OF SOME CITY STREETS AS WELL AS SMALL STREAMS AND LOW LYING RURAL AREAS. SNOWFALL THIS MORNING WILL CHANGE TO RAIN THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE OVERNIGHT. RAINFALL IS EXPECTED TO BE HEAVY WITH AROUND 1 INCH OF RAIN EXPECTED BY FRIDAY MORNING. CITY STORM DRAINS COVERED WITH SNOW AND ICE COULD QUICKLY RESULT IN STREET FLOODING.

Well... at least everywhere that I went, it wasn't rain but snow! As has been the case for most days over the past two+ weeks, I start out by shoveling the drive way (I secretly still enjoy starting the day this way). However, the result was that I was a little late picking up John Martinek. Fortunately, he had paged me earlier suggesting that we cancel so he wasn't quite ready anyway. Glad I didn't get that page or the day wouldn't nearly have been as fun since I probably wouldn't have left the house. Along with John's wife, Kelly, we drove down to Coeur d'Alene for the Hangover Handicap.

Hangover Handicap

The Hangover Handicap run is put on by TESH, Inc, a non-profit rehabilitation organization helping those who are disabled and/or disadvantaged to reach their highest level of independence. The course runs along lake Coeur d'Alene, ID, an exact match for a portion of the Coeur d'Alene Ironman run section.

There was certainly nothing special about my time. In fact, we arrived a few minutes late so we didn't even start until only the walkers could be seen in the distance. I knew a a few folks from Itron in the race (Doug Dominey and Fran Johnson) so once I was able to catch them, I doubled back a few times to say, "Hi" and run with John some. In total, I stats were as follows:

Distance (including doubling back): 5.24 miles
Time: 42:32
Pace: 8:07 min/mile

Nothing to write home about but we ran on snow the whole way, it was snowing heavily, and I can say I even enjoyed myself (not the usual poking yourself in the eye type of experience. :) After grabbing an apple cider from a local restaurant, we headed down to the lake for a swim.

2009 Coeur d'Alene Polar Bear Swim

It seemed we were going to be just in time for the plunge but on the way there a truck (4X4) go stuck in front of us - I was driving a Honda Odyssey. We of course stopped and once they got going we were stuck too. Traffic started to line up quickly behind us. Eventually, we got the line to reverse and we rolled back for a running start. We got to the top of the hill and started sliding down the other site, narrowly missing a parked car on the way down. I slowly rushed to the plunge area to join the other 1,000 or so "crazies." Unfortunately, the bell went off just as we were entering the area. Bummer.... I pushed through the watchers, raced down the beach, stripped, and dived in after everyone was already out. (Heck, I had come all that way, I wasn't going to miss it now.)

Once I got out, John and Kelly came over to see if I was still alive. John's doing the Ironman this year so he had no choice but to pressure him to go for a swim. He reluctantly agreed, and to ensure I wasn't asking him to do something I wouldn't do - I joined him for a my second swim of the day. (I think that credits me for having done the polar bear swim 3 times in two years.)

CDAPress had a great description of the event in the newspaper the next day. I say great because it does a good job of having absolutely no explanation of why people do this type of thing but that they do it anyway. :)

I highly recommend this experience. Really, it sounds stupid (in fact, it is stupid) - however, having done it now, I can say it is actually pleasurable - really! The coming up for a breath isn't great - you feel almost short of breath. However, once you stand in the snow and soak up the experience - there is just something inside you that makes you want to yell... YEAHHH!!!

(P.S. Don't do it twice on the same day like I did, that isn't so great.)

Running Spokane Half Marathon

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:39:10 GMT

This morning I did the Spokane Half Marathon - a fairly hilly course especially with Bloomsday (doomsday) hill at mile 9. This is my second time doing it but I was a long ways from my 7 min/mile goal with a time of 1:34:44. I thought last year I did it faster but it turns out I was mistaken (last year my time was 1:35:28).

Summary:

Total Time: 1:34:44
Average Mile: 7:11
Placed overall: 43
35-39 Age Group: 7

The temperature started cold (I recall 24 on a bill board as we drove into town) but it warmed up by race time. Immediately before the race I decided to abandon all my layers and strip down to just shorts and a non-cotton T-Shirt. Good Choice! For me, this was perfect attire for the race - I was never hot or cold.

Over all, I had a really tough race. By the time I reached the bottom of Bloomsday Hill I had enough and was ready to start walking. By the top, I was wondering why I participated in such a crazy painful sport in the first place. Then I remembered what I learned in high-school, "It is like poking yourself in the eye. It feels good to stop." The rest of the race was slow going. However, my Garmin 405 was showed me significantly slower than I was. Next time I need to have it set for lap time, total time, and total distance. Not having the total time made it difficult to know where I was overall in regards to my goal.

Lap times varied by as much as 1.5 minutes.

Lap Time

1 0:06:52

2 0:06:45

3 0:06:38

4 0:07:04

5 0:06:38

6 0:07:16

7 0:07:37

8 0:07:05

9 0:08:06

10 0:07:54

11 0:07:43

12 0:08:14

13 0:06:53

I haven't run since my last race and I suspect this really made a difference. My last hard training week was the week of Sept. 15.

Well... I think that is it for races until Jan 1 and the Coeur d'Alene Hangover Handicap. I will take much of next week off (from running) and then pick up with a 3 day a week run schedule (one of which is over 10 miles).

"Are We There Yet?s" 2008 Adventure Race Has Plenty of Room For Improvement

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:36:57 GMT

Summary:

Most years, team "Are We There Yet?" attempts a 36 hour adventure race. This year we did the Berryman Adventure in Van Buren, MO. Team members were:

Andrew Michaelis - Austin, TX; George Koburov - Woodridge, IL; Karen Seacor - Cleveland; OH, Mark Michaelis - Spokane Valley, WA

Final status for team Are We There Yet: Withdrawn (we only did a single checkpoint on the bike course.)

Disciplines:

Trail Running: 20 miles
River Canoeing: 31 miles
Mountain Biking: 61 miles (which we didn't do)

More Photos

The Good, The Bad, And the Ugly

Given the distances from the race, we all had significant travel times. Karen had 12 hours (8 on Friday) and I started out on a red eye at 12:40 AM on Friday morning. The result is that all of us to some extent started the race with sleep deprivation (Lame Excuse #1). One way George and I coped was to use Benadryl so as to increase the chance of sleeping on the way to the race. Having never done this, I can say I was glad I did as I think it helped me get some good rest in. George picked Andy and I up from the St. Louis airport, we picked up a bike for Mark at the Alpine Shop, and headed down for the race, George and Andy taking turns driving and sleeping.

During the drive down, I searched for GPS tracking software so that we could record where we went (in contrast to the actual check point location). GPSes are not legal but I have one built into my phone (required gear in this case), so I figured I had one anyway, I just couldn't (and didn't) use it. The program that seemed to be all I needed and at the right cost was Luis Espinosa's TrackMe. Unfortunately, batteries and other technical details caused this not to work for us in this race, but conceptually, this seems like it would be a great way to track where we actually went.

We all arrived at the race site, Big Springs - MO, at around 3 PM. This gave us plenty of time to unpack and setup before the pre-race spaghetti dinner at 5:15 PM. We unpacked, set up a screened-in canopy, completed gear checks and verified bikes were in working order. After dinner we had so little to do we napped for a few min before heading out to the race meeting, a short drive to the landing.

Besides the raffling off of several very nice prizes, Garmin GPSes, Kayak, Soloman trail shoes, etc., the race meeting was short and sweet. We learned that we would be traveling North by bus to race start. The race would begin with 9-15 hours of trail running followed by 6-8 hours of canoeing. We were sure to get wet and there would be a gear check along the way. That was pretty much it.

We headed back to the race headquarters/transition area to take care of any last minute details and then we even attempted a brief (30 min) nap before race start pictures and boarding the bus. We were the first ones on the bus, but five minutes before driving off, we realized bike gloves would be handy for the paddling so Andy and George dashed off to grab some (during the paddle I was glad he did). We left at about 10 PM and arrived at race start, Two Rivers (along the Current River), at about 11:15 PM. We made our best attempt to nap on the way up but none of us really did.

The race began with one team member from each team (Andy in our case) running a quick quarter mile up the road to grab a clue sheet with coordinates. It was around this time that we learned the race would begin with a four to five foot river crossing in what was brisk and chilly water. Nice! The rest of us picked up our maps and tried to orient ourselves to the area as best we could. Andy returned quickly and we began plotting the coordinates. George led the effort. The maps were slightly confusing because one side had longitude lines that were slightly off (from the rest of the map) but this only mattered for the Check Points #1&#2, so we were able to stumble through.

After plotting we ran down to the boat launch and undressed down to our race underwear for the river crossing. I wasn't particularly excited to begin the race this way but the worst of the crossing was sore feet as we walked on the rocks. We linked arms so that we didn't lose anyone and carried our bags above our heads. Overall, it was a fun start and quickly got us into the right attitude for an adventure race. Dressing on the other side we checked our time and began a slow trail jog. A couple times we looked at the possibility of a turn off but it was too soon. While plotting, we had decided to take the first trail and then cut up to Check Point #2, but once on the course, we missed the first turn off so we went up the second - purposely over shooting it so that we could cut back via the more gradual nose of the hill. On the way up we came across an old Jeep trail that led us straight to the check point. We followed the same trail down but, once we hit the dirt road, stayed on that to Check Point #3, rather than taking a short cut and bush whacking across. As we learned at the end of the race, this was not the most efficient, taking the shortest route even with bush whacking is generally the most efficient in this area. (Not our experience in races elsewhere).

Check Point #4 was baffling. There was a trail most of the way there until we had to cut across into the brush along a flat ridge but we missed the cut across entirely. In fact, we thought we were on it but determined later, that we had overshot it entirely and instead we were on a trail further on. This baffled us several times but after several false attempts to relocate, we eventually found a trail which led us all the way around. In the end we had made a full circle along the trails bordering Check Point #4. Once we relocated ourselves, we made an attempt to cut across, up a creek to find Check Point #4. We took a bearing and headed up but ended up wandering around aimlessly for 2 hours before drifting back down to a known point. At this point we gave up and decided to proceed on to the next check point. In hindsight, don't (rarely) skip a checkpoint you are near in favor of one you don't know anything about. The one you are at and know something about, is likely to be easier than any later on ones you haven't spent any time on and know nothing about.

Check Point #5 was our first significant error. We headed out to it along a trail. After removing our shoes and crossing a river and a brisk hike, things didn't quite seem right. We re-plotted the check point and discovered we had misplaced it by more than 10 km. Yikes! We headed back and began searching the hillside for our newly located Check Point #5. On the map it was clearly along a reentrant, geographically a small valley frequently with water funneling into it, possibly starting in a marshy area at the top. (By definition, reentrant is a series of angles pointing inwards.) We split up along the hillside, frequently unable to hear a brisk yell from one person to another. This made it difficult to regroup and strategically attack again. We should always remain within clear ear shot, if not closer. Finally we congregated back at the river and replenished our water supplies (purifying with iodine). We again attacked the check point, this time following a compass bearing or trying to follow the reentrant more closely. Again, we came up empty. Arghhh!!! Another two hours were lost and again, we didn't find the endpoint. We quit our search for a second time and headed up and over in search of Check Point #6.

Check Point #6 was interesting because it required us to switch from our 1 to 24,000 topographical map to a print out of a Ozark Trail topographical map. Unfortunately, we never reconciled the two maps and lazily tried to just come across the trail. The result was that we ended up on a dirt trail at the bottom of a hill with little to no idea where we were. We wandered along the road meeting 4 other two person teams - one of which had been searching for Check Point #6 for three hours without any luck. We commiserated and even attempted a phone call but there was no coverage. We also considered the idea using a iPone GPS but we didn't know how to translate the coordinates to UTM coordinates. As a group, we decided to march back along the road and, if failure continued, to skip the Ozark Trail and instead follow the river. As a team we stayed behind a little longer, reexamining the map. However, we still had no idea where we were so we eventually decided on a similar tactic. Fortunately, one of the two person teams did see the trail logo (on left), obviously an O.T. once you pay attention. Anyway, several yards in was the orienteering flag and we were back on the map.

Check Point #7 was easy to find. We just followed the Ozark Trail which was clearly marked all the way. We briskly walked up the initial part, following behind the other two point teams. At the summit, they took a break and we continued, now in a slow jog for most of the remainder of the trail. It was beautiful, the altitude changes relatively minor, and overall, we were in good spirits. Glad to again know our location and motivated to move faster by the teams behind us. After stamping at Check Point #7 we walked past on along the trail, planning to check our next steps away from the check point. This was silly as it turned out we headed in the wrong direction. Check Point #7 wasn't along the trail but rather, across the stream and up to the top of the hill. By this time, George, who didn't have long pants, was pretty cut up from all the bush whacking.

Mark led the navigation along a bearing. Rather than leap-frogging each other to keep the bearing, he used the trees to find the next point. This proved to be fairly accurate but when we reached the top portion of the hill, the brush became extremely dense and we had to begin leap-frogging again. However, the bearing took us away from the ridge and we eventually abandoned it in favor of following the contour lines. Andy found the first summit and then we moved from one high point to the next, following along where the check point led us. Soon after the first high point, we encountered a clearing and a trail and we were able to follow this. We briefly miscounted how many high points we had encountered but after a short while we were back on track and came across the orienteering flag right on the trail.

Next we followed the trail to Check Point #8. We used time to estimate distance and this proved to be accurate for Check Point #9 as well. It was somewhat surprising how far #9 was off the trail and we all wondered how hard it would have been to find the check point in the dark.

Check Point #10 was reasonably straightforward. However, we did run briefly off track by assuming it was along a road that it wasn't. Mark identified there was an issue and we headed up the nose of the next hill to find the next checkpoint. Check Point #10 was accessible via road but this meant a considerable detour so the direct route was selected. This proved to be fairly easy. In fact, George located an old logging trail which he was able to traverse fairly quickly.

Check Point #11 looked challenging. We headed down along the road and reached the bottom of the hill. The hill looked to be very dense and there was no trail. We decided to locate an intersection and then take a bearing from there. Once at the intersection, we were feeling a little discouraged and decided to take a 5 minute nap. This was energizing and appreciated even though it was short. We fell asleep without issue (besides brief naps, we had all been up for 30 or so hours by this time). We discussed whether to skip Check Points #11 and #12 and eventually decided to simply head for Powder Mill and the canoes. Although there were misgivings about giving up on the last two check points but, since we had already skipped 2, it wasn't nearly as big a deal. Instead, we were surprised at how far away the canoe launch seemed.

At the canoe launch, Check Point #13, we were amazed to learn that two teams had been able to navigate all the trail check points in six hours while it had taken us fifteen and we had skipped four. Wow!!! How on earth had they done that. It is unfathomable to us. Truly remarkable!

We didn't dilly-dally at the transition area, sticking to refreshing our water supply, grabbing our transition bags, and heading to the water. The water felt great on our tired feet. Andy and Karen took one canoe while George and I took the other. Andy and Mark were in the rear (steering). It didn't take long to get into the rhythm of paddling and the river was incredibly beautiful. If it wasn't for the pressure of the race, this would make for a leisurely trip along a gorgeous part of Missouri. We saw fish eagles, blue herons, and pied king fishers along with Andrew's favorite, a snake. There were frequent camp grounds and boat landings along the way and we frequently checked with the locals on distance to the next point on the map. Just prior to dusk we came across some tough rapids and saw another team on the shore. Mark and George were already past them as they entered the toughest waters so far. Karen and Andy took the other side of the island and ended up landing so that they could pick up the other team. The other team had capsized and their canoe was pinned. They were soaked through and less than happy to say the least. A ranger showed up within the half hour and took the additional crew back on a motor boat. (He didn't think it would be quite fair to tow us although we did ask. :)

We got to Waymeyer (Check Point #14) just as it was getting dark. There we did a gear check, potty break, and put on additional clothing. Once we started out again, things were significantly more difficult. There was fog coming off the water and our light reflected off the haze making it very difficult to see the water. We could hear the rapids, but couldn't see obstacles until we were on them almost. Wow.... it was some tense canoeing (but exciting/fun). At the time we thought it was dangerous and questioned the fact that we were not pulled out of the race. However, after a discussion with the race director, we agreed with his choice to leave it to us. Really, the worst that could happen was capsizing and getting wet - it wasn't really life threatening. At one point Andy and Karen hit a strainer but their experience avoided any incident. As they discussed a little later, leaning into the obstacle (rather than away from it as instinct would lead you) is key. This way, you are tipping the bottom of the boat up river so the water doesn't flow over the side. About a mile from the end George and Mark hit a rapid which threw them to the outside of the river and into a strainer. Yikes... They hit the tree at virtually full throttle; Mark backpaddled one way while George furiously fought to untangle himself from his flashlight so that he could paddle on the other. Fortunately, they hit a pivot point at the right angle and it simply swung the boat around rather than tipped them over. It was intense for a few short moments and Mark was clobbered on the head by a branch hitting his paddle. However, this was the worst of it and for this we were all grateful.

Back at race headquarters and our transition area, we replenished our supplies, changed our clothes and put on warmer clothing (we were cold) and checked the bikes were ready to go. We also took a 30 minute nap - this really helped replenish us - although perhaps not our minds. After our nap we plotted out one or two of the bike check points and headed out. We followed the map and were able to make it fit the terrain perfectly. The clue was that the check point was next to a barn but we couldn't find the barn. Strange? We proceeded to check every building we could find in the two mile stretch of road as though every building was a barn. We went up and down the road for more than two hours trying to find a the check point but it was nowhere to be found. Did it get taken down? Why couldn't we see it? Was our distance measurement off? What gives? Confused and frustrated, we headed back to the camp, sneaking in the back way, humiliated at our defeat. No less than 10 minutes later, it occurred to us that perhaps we had gone the wrong way. We checked our compass (what a novel idea), and sure enough, we had headed out South instead of North? Wow! How could we have navigated the last 24 hours straight and now, when the check point was along the road, we just assumed and didn't even check the compass once before heading out. Mental exhaustion? Not sure.. Lame? Undoubtedly! We headed off in the right direction and found Check Point #15 within less than 10 minutes. From there we simply headed back to camp tired and dejected. I think biking, especially fun, challenging single track (at night even) is our favorite event and we didn't do any. :(

It is interesting how our minds are able to bend the truth to fit with what we want rather than the way things are. For us, everything was a barn, the valleys all fitted with the map perfectly, and trails all lined up with what we wanted. In reality, we were not even close to where we needed to be. Interesting... how often in life do we do similar things? We project our feelings on to others or try to change truth to what we want rather than change our minds to conform to Truth. How often do we say, do, believe what we want rather than allow the Truth to dictate reality for us.

At this point, we were beaten mentally, physically and emotionally. We affirmed what we had already expected when we plotted only a few bike check points, we were done. We headed back to camp, crawled into sleeping bags, and crashed. In the back of our minds we were grateful especially since this meant we would sleep before driving the 3 hours back to St Louis on no sleep - a ludicrous idea that was likely to kill us. Next year, we make sure a plan is in place to have a designated non-racer driver, or a good several hours (night) sleep before driving.

Before leaving the race site, we sat down with Jason Elsenraat for a lesson in navigation. It was very helpful. Here is a list of pointers:

Use a map wheel to mark out the mileage on the intended path
Use a 3mm roller ball to mark check points rather than the Sharpe which frequently hid contour lines.
Use a hi-lighter to mark dotted lines of the intended path between check points
Draw arrows using a hi-lighter across the map indicating North (otherwise you have to unfold the map to check)
Use contour lines to get into the general location, rather than rigid following of the compass for long distances.
When one set of contour lines are not distinct, move to a different one for navigation close to the target and then compass navigate from that point.
Feel free to take short cuts rather than a long way round just to stay on the trail. (Interestingly, our experience from other races was the opposite - take the trail rather than bush whack the unknown)
Use the altimeter for judging distances - especially from a peak of valley
Have a designated time keeper other than the navigator (Similarly for the altimeter says Mark)
Place markings on the compass for distance (both 1 in 24000 and 1 in 25000)
Carry a pipe cleaner to measure distances on the route (or use string on compass)
Two AR roamers: Basic Roamer AR and Adventure Racing Corner Rulers (The Ozark Extreme site has list as does maptools.com.) Online there is also a slot style tool which looks the best because you can write along the border of the scale - a significant problem with the other two roamers which you have to lift up in order to plot a point.
*Use contact paper to waterproof your map
*Write the clues on the map near the check point, rather than depending on a separate piece of paper.

*Team Are We There Yet's idea

On the drive back Andy and George again switched drivers. After a brief nap, Andy took over from George in order to speed things up in hopes of catching an early flight rather than waiting until Monday morning - especially since everyone else was leaving. He succeeded. I spent the bulk of the trip examining various GPS tracking logs and discovered that none of them really worked so we had virtually no tracking record of the race - disappointing, but there is always next year.

Shout Outs from CheckPoint Tracker - Thanks for all the cheering everyone!

2008 Coeur d’Alene Triathlon

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:16:00 GMT

On Saturday (Aug. 9), I did the 2008 Coeur d’Alene Triathlon with the following results:

Overall Time: 2:46:43
Division (35-39) Place: 36
Swim Time: 0:27:41
Bike Transition: 4:13
Bike Time: 1:24:58
Run Transition 2:12
Run Time: 0:47:39
Placed Overall: 168

This was an Olympic distance triathlon: 1.5 km (0.9 miles) Swim, 40 km (25 miles) bike, 10 km (6.2) Run.

A couple things to note. Firstly, I mostly remembered to have fun. Not at the beginning since I didn’t enjoy the swim much at all – frequently wondering why I participated in this sport at all. From there, however, my attitude improved. My transition to the bike (4 min) needs to get a lot faster. I was breathing pretty hard. On the bike leg I got a flat tire just as I was nearing Higgin’s Point. I am not sure how long it took me to change it but I would guess 10-15 minutes. It wasn’t fast I know that much. :( Interestingly, I saw quite a few flats perhaps 10. Eric Edmonds got two in fact. This number of flats is a lot, especially when you consider the bike course is only 25 miles.

Second, and on the topic of excuses, another one of mine was that I didn’t have my Forerunner 405 GPS watch. I left it on when I approached the beach and, rather than swim with it, which is not advised (the watch is only IPX7 - 1 meter of water for 30 minutes), I gave it to one of the race officials right by the timing mats. Unfortunately, when I got out of the water, he was no longer to be found. Bummer!!! Oh well, the race goes on but, unfortunately, I didn’t know my speed/heart rate/pace on the bike which I was disappointed about. I really love having it on the bike and run as I know what my pace should be on each so it pushes me to reach it.

Oh well, without the watch and now, with a flat tire, who cares about time. Lets have fun… and so I did. I was singing and whistling on the bike, probably bugging the heck out of all the folks I was passing (and there were many). I was cheering them on. When we reached the top of The Hill I cheered and announced we had made it. A couple people passed me too, but I just cheered them on. The run wasn’t as much fun as the bike but I had a good time there too. I just plodded along, not killing myself too much.

When I started the run I had significant stomach cramps, just like the Ironman. :( I need to figure out the nutrition thing. The common factor so far is Perpetuem. However, it seems like it would be great if my stomach could handle it since you can mix it in various concentrates – even in gel form as I did for the Ironman. Can I get used to it? Hmmm… Is there an alternate brand that my stomach accepts perhaps? I don’t know yet.

Overall, a good day.

2008 Race Schedule: July-September

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:18:53 GMT

Okay, now that it is over with, what’s next? Here’s the current plan:

July 17, 2008:- Cherry Pickers Trot – 4 mile run
August 9, 2008:- Coeur d’Alene Triathlon (Olympic triathlon distance) – ~1 mile swim, ~25 mile bike, ~6 mile run
September 27-28:- The Berryman Adventure Race (36 hour course) – 50-70 mile mountain biking, 20-40 mile trail running, 15-30 miles canoeing.

After that, I am not committed to anything but I hope to do the Spokane Half-Marathon and a marathon such as the Tri-Cities Marathon. A little something that will motivate me to keep fit at least.

Support from Family and Friends – Thanks!!!!

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 08:13:00 GMT

I cannot say enough about how wonderful the support from family and friends was.

Undoubtedly, Elisabeth has been stuck with providing the most support. Obviously, this wasn’t just on race day but throughout the year as I trained for the race. Some training days were as many as 8 or 9 hours. Time was not just in training but researching/purchasing equipment, reading and learning, logging my training, and an endless myriad of other time consuming items. Elisabeth even put together a document of information on various topics relating to the Ironman. Thanks so much Sweetie!

Several weeks before the race I asked Bryan McLelland to help coordinate where people should be when. Towards this effort, I printed out the bike and run maps and combined these with my locator spreadsheet, which the two of us reviewed a couple weeks before. Thanks Bryan!!! The day before the race, my mom, dad, and brother came down with me and I pointed out to them where I was going to be passing through the transition area. (This not only communicated to them what I would be doing, but it also helped solidify it in my mind.) Note: Give map of transition and finish area to family and friends and walk it through with them.

On race morning, Bryan drove me down to the race and helped with dropping off special needs bags and other miscellaneous items. This was a huge help in reducing stress. He also took pictures and adopted Elisabeth, Benjamin, and Hanna when they arrived at the race. Unfortunately, I didn’t see them before heading to the beach.

Thanks to Elisabeth and Neely, each of my kids had handmade shirts and they were awesome! My kids were very excited about having them (they still wear them after the race), and I was proud of them too.

If that wasn’t enough, Elisabeth made me a shirt for the run as shown below. Wow!!! Everyone I saw in the run seemed to have one of those fancy tri-shirts. Really, it was rare I didn’t see one. Even when it wasn’t a tri-shirt, there were no other shirts I noticed that were “homemade.” I got tons of comments both from other runners and from the spectators. I love the shirt and it made me feel loved and cared for. Next time I want to find a white bike shirt so that I can have something similar for the bike. Also, it was mentioned that I needed something distinguishable on my helmet. Consider painting it perhaps?

By the way, use your first name on your run number and your last name on your bike number (use only your first name if you are not switching numbers). Few people besides other bikers will ever read the name when you are biking and, assuming you want your name called, first names are easier to read.

I didn’t see Elisabeth and the kids before starting the swim but after the first lap they were behind the timing pad area and I saw their bright green sign.

This became a hallmark of what to look for and from then on I saw them whenever I passed.

I saw Todd and his children as I went out and back toward Spokane River, and Krista, Kate and Addy came back with Bryan and stayed the rest of the day. Each person was a great encouragement. Another person I saw was Tom Heavey as I headed out to Hayden for a bike leg. John and Greta Underhill came out for the run. That was much appreciated too. Ruth, Bradley and Aiden made the trek out from Seattle as well!

My mom looked after Abigail for much of the day. As mentioned before, Andy, Neely, and my dad followed me around on both the bike and the run course. Andy did the same for Eric for his last 6 miles or so. This was a huge support and encouragement. The fact that Andy and Neely came out for just the weekend to support me in spite of the expense and having to take a day off of work was a significant sacrifice. Thanks guys! If nothing else, I hope it inspires Andy to do a race like this with me in the future.

Lastly thanks to folks at Itron. Val Kuntz, Diane Davis helped as peelers and again were out at the Itron/YMCA aid station (around miles 6 and 9 on the run) volunteering and cheering. They joined Fran Johnson on Sherman Ave., where they took some of the photos as I ran down Sherman Ave. to the finish line. Thanks for all the support and encouragement from each of you – especially in the months leading up to the race both via numerous cubical chats and training runs. Also, thanks to Andy Anderson for his sharing his experience doing the race last year. A huge thanks to Mike Eldred (and his wife, Chris, for suggesting it) for the use of your bike both during the race and the three months prior. Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!!!

Even my neighbors were a great support. Elisabeth followed them down to the race in the morning. After they returned home, they followed me around online and via text messages to my brother. When I got home they had decorated the garage with the sign below. Thanks, neighbors!!

Competing in the 2008 Coeur d’Alene Ironman: Brain Dump of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:06:00 GMT

Day Before

Met Eric at Mountain View Cyclery in Post Falls. He was getting new tires and tubes. Remarkably, every time a new tire was put on it popped at about 120 PSI. What gives? Went through replacement tape, tire, still no luck. Eventually, left the wheel there and went to go check in the bikes (minus one wheel). Turns out, after putting the tube onto a replacement wheel it still popped. 7 tubes later, it was determined the tubes were faulty. Interestingly, it would have been okay to check the bike in race morning if it came down to it. Plus, that would have avoided the rain.
Took my bike in to get new tires and the bike guru (Jefferson) pointed out that I had significant scraping in the hub. Arghh!! How is this possible? I took it to Wheel Sport East the Monday before and they had checked it out saying that it was all set to go. :) I scrambled to rebuild the hub but Jefferson, at Mountain View Cyclery in Post Falls was absolutely awesome. He rebuilt my hub, replacing the bearings in no time. Unfortunately, he didn’t have an replacement spindle so there was still some roughness in the rotation but it was certainly better. Jefferson is awesome!
Only purchased a rear tire, $70, and pumped it to 140 psi – a lot higher than anything I had in training. Front tire was 120 psi.
Don’t worry about not turning in your bags the day before if it is a problem. You can easily bring them the day of as long as you come early enough. I had some gear (my family was decorating my shirt) that wasn’t quite ready and it was frustrating having only most but not all because it meant incomplete lists. I prefer just having all the swim to bike gear, etc, in one place.
Have a check list. This was great. I made it a week or more before and it was a huge help.
Had only one Endurance Gatorade bottle but this turned out not to be a problem. My aero bottle was plenty big enough for enough liquid between approximately 10 mile food stations.
Wow, lots of folks have the really junky aero bottles that I originally purchased but returned. These things are terrible. The yellow splash guards fly out (3 times on my very first ride) and, since there is no lid, you and your bike get covered with Gatorade by the end of the ride. Absolute junk… how come so many people have them?
Wow… lots of money in that bike coral. Perception is a majority of folks have ZIPP wheels. It appears that most bikes are worth well over $2,000. My bike was borrowed so I can’t say, but $2,000*2200 people = $4,600,000. Wow…. that makes for a lot of money guarded by only a makeshift fence. :)
Looked into renting the ZIPP (or equivalent) wheels at one of the booths. These wheels run $1,000+ per wheel if purchased. You can rent them for $175 for the top of the line wheel set and their claim was that on a 112 mile ride it would cut 20 minutes off your time. Tempting but certainly not this time. 1.) Seems little point in buying such wheels as you wouldn’t want to train in them – else an accident could cost you $2,000 for the wheels alone. 2.) So, if you are going to have high end wheels, you may as well rent them.
The night before I didn’t get to bed until 11 PM and then I woke up at 3 AM. Not good, but I confess, I wasn’t sleepy the entire day.

Pre-Race

Have friend drive you to the race and then be available for errands – like dropping off your special needs bags.
Use helium balloon or other such marker to have your bags stand out. Consider painting your bag with a distinguishable color.
Bryan dropped off special needs bags. (Thanks Bryan!)
Found a bike pump but was lucky. Supply your own pump even though they say they have them for racers.
If you don’t use official race bags, be very sure the number is marked clearly and won’t come off. Race bags break.
Bathrooms are a line up affair. Have time to wait.
Consider using a balloon to mark your bike if you are out of the water fast or your bike is hard to distinguish.
Go down to water a little earlier than the last 5 minutes. The line to the timing mat was very slow moving. Be on the line before the national anthem – I wasn’t.
Over the PA system they announced that the water temperature was 59.5 degrees. The weather for the day was perfect throughout the day. I really can’t ask for anything better.

Swim Lap 1 (00:36)

Started as far to over (to the middle/return lane) as possible and swam straight down the middle (allowing natural drifting to the buoys).
Finding someone to draft behind is sporadic. Bare feet easier to see than booties.
Stopped kicking when I felt someone at my feet, didn’t want to kick them.
Didn’t bother steering, just followed those around me.
Watched the yellow buoys go by and this was encouraging.
Some folks I drafted seemed to be zig-zagging wildly.
07:15 - That wasn’t so bad. Made it to the second buoy without getting kicked much.
07:21 – Wow, passed the second red buoy. Seemed most crowded between first and second red buoy, more so than start even.
After last buoy, straight on course. Timing mat directly ahead. Great!
Bright signs from spectators were easily distinguishable. I picked out my family just by a quick glance at the crowd and waved so they knew I saw them. This was a huge boost. They were cheering madly. Awesome as I didn’t see them at the start.
Put something distinguishable on the wetsuit (luminous tape or such) so that family and friends can pick you out.

Swim Lap 2 (00:42)

07:37 - Didn’t feel like doing another lap but wasn’t tired or anything.
Don’t touch your stop watch. I knew mine and had used it a billion times but instead of clicking lap, I clicked stop.
Ouch, it appears as if I have a “wet suit kiss” on my neck from looking up at the “racers” in front of me. (Two days later people wondered what that sore was on my neck.) I remember reading about using body glide/Vaseline but since I didn’t experience it in training, I didn’t worry about it. Guess this is only something you get with experience. I suspect that folding up the zipper “rip cord” didn’t help since perhaps my Velcro stuck out more. Pulled the “rip cord” free.
Swim drafting is a toss up. Perhaps it helps so much that you think you have chosen a slow leader and can go faster. :) Second lap drafting is more sporadic since competitors are spread out more.
As I passed the second red buoy the second time, I was distracted (calculating my time) and swam out way too far until a kayak pointed me in the right direction. It took a long time before I could look for someone to draft behind again.
Kicked in the face last 100 meters. Ouch! Well, just keep on going and watch more carefully.

Rank 957. Total swim time was 01:18:33

Swim to Bike Transition (00:07)

Toweled and changed my shorts but my tri-shorts (which I only used for biking) ended up wet anyway so next time, use tri shorts for swim and bike perhaps. (I decided not to since the race was so long, may as well take 30 seconds to change them. Tri shorts presumably make a lot more sense for shorter races.)
Temperature is warm enough that drying probably wasn’t necessary (even after the relatively cold swim).
There are folks there to help. Use them to pack your gear at a minimum so you can get going.
Don’t forget to get sun screen.
Have your watch set to go. If using GPS that takes time to find satellites (Garmin 305), start it when you come in to the tent from the swim.
Practice running through a transition the day before. Actually do it. I pointed where I was going, knew where I was going, and still walked off in the wrong direction after my wet suit was off.
Transition tent was full! There were too many people, chairs were hard to find.
I am glad I had set my bike in the correct gear the night before.

Bike Lap 1 (02:47)

I had another glimpse of my family and friends and this was another boost. Yeah! They were so great!
Hmmm… something is scraping. Seems like the brake on the front wheel. Bummer! Why didn’t I spin the wheels yesterday? Oh well, disconnecting front break.
Average speed through town only 10.2 mph, just like in practice. Interesting? Perhaps due to the fact that my Garmin 305 hadn’t finished finding satellites even when I turned on to Sherman but I had started soon after getting on the bike.
Passing folks…
Some are passing me…
Turn around at Higgen’s Point. Noticed how the special needs bags were laid out. Low numbers first – good to remember when I come back.
Mile 6 (08:45:20) – Average 27.4 mph
Pass by food station and check how it works. They have a net (like a catchers net) for garbage. Gatorade is first, then water. Don’t see power bars. :( Bananas and then drinks again. Don’t pick anything up since I haven’t opened my Gatorade yet.
Note, don’t bother carrying drinks except aero bottle. Only grab drink when aero bottle is empty and then fill immediately and save empty bottle until next station (where you toss it at the start of the station).
The Endurance Gatorade provided for the bike section comes in 24 fl oz bottles thin enough to carry in a water bottle cage. Water’s are 16 fl oz.
Wow, a few people flying past me… need more speed. Okay, decide to set my pace with a couple others, stay with them without drafting. Zig-zagging to right and then race to catch the next rider, move left to overtake. If someone else passing already, move further left to avoid drafting. Difficult… temptation is great.
Frequently get caught in group and can’t help but draft. Stay left and wait for clearing. Sometimes there are three to four riders side by side and two to three deep as we race along. Those of us that are faster pull away, jockeying for position. First one leads, and then the next, dropping back after being over taken but not back four bike lengths as rules require. Too many bikers right behind for that. Interesting… not sure how to handle this besides moving left or right to avoid drafting but moving to draft right before overtaking.
By this time I am catching those that passed me earlier, presumably they were going out too fast and then they slowed to pace themselves – or perhaps I am going too fast?
Reaching and maintaining speeds of 30 mph on the flats following the downhill. Wow… what is wonderfully wrong? Try to eat… yuck. Only get down a few bites of protein bar.
Mile 9 (08:53:41) – max speed of 39.3
Begin remembering names and numbers of those I have been jockeying with for the past 7 miles.
Speed up on the down hill of Sherman Ave, approaching Northwest Blvd. Overtake one of my fellow pacers at the turn and dash out to Government Way.
Whoops, not good, Government Way is a lot sharper turn than I expected. Skid (I only have a rear break …. ughhh.) Stay upright and finally pull out of the skid. Wow! Let’s not repeat that again. (Interestingly, Eric and I never did this turn since we avoided this part of downtown during practice simply because of the traffic. 15th was a way better road to go north on in practice rides.)
Yippee!! There are my friends and family. The key again is the bright green poster (which I spotted during the swim) and now am going to look out for whenever I come by City Park. McLelland’s are there with my family too. Tom Heavey was 20 yards before them (not sure if he yelled or what but I picked him out regardless).
Heading up Government Way; still passing folks. Race seems to have spread out some and I don’t see many of the numbers I was jockeying with earlier. No longer in groups of seven or so, more like 2-3 – which I pass relatively quickly.
Average speed 20+ mph. Above target but feeling great.
Ughh, headwind heading east to 4th.
Anticlockwise around the circle (as traffic would) and keeping pace under control so as not to skid.
Mile 20 (09:21:39) - Ughh! Up hill appears to be a weakness. I get overtaken by three or four on the first hill although I catch many of them once it flattens out.
Mile 22 (09:27:14) – Total ascent is 116 ft while descent is 157 ft. From now until the return from Hayden, it will be either up or down but not flat.
Mile 25 (09:36:37) – Passed by a bunch of folks. Nice bikes just seem to coast by without much work. This is the worst hill on the course in my opinion. Pass one woman whose bike is squeaking up a storm. Another rider suggests to her to stop and fix it. A few minutes later I see a Tech. vehicle – nice timing.
Look out for Larry Carroll but don’t see him (then or anywhere on the entire course).
Mile 26 (09:41:30) – See my brother (Andy), Neely, and my dad for the second time on the course. Excellent! They are going to track with my biking. Coolness! My brother yells for me to eat something.
Mile 27 (09:45:41) – Reach Max speed for entire ride of 40.2 mph. Interestingly, my average speed for that lap was only 15.8 mph. Hills do that to you.
Mile 28 (09:49:28) – Andy, Neely, and Dad drive by on the left hand side – taking a few pictures as they go. They yell something but I don’t catch it.
Mile 29 (09:53:02) – I begin to see riders going the opposite way. Wow! By my calculation after the fact, I am about 13 miles behind them.
Lap 38 (10:19:40) – Average speed of 27.6 mph and max speed of 38.2 mph.
Lap 40 (10:26:33) – Food station. Tried my first banana and was able to peel it before reaching the end of the station and, therefore, toss the peel.
Mile 42 (10:33:40) – Alone in a strong headwind. Could be people right behind me but I don’t bother checking. By the time I reach the corner, I have caught some and some have caught me such that there is a small cluster making the corner.

Bike Lap 2 (03:02)

Heading out to Higgen’s Point again I can tell I am going slower.
Mile 70.5 (11:59:05) There are my family and friends again just after I turn onto Government Way. Again, bright green poster is key.
Mile 71 (12:01:38) - Bikers are a lot more spread out now. Easily 30 yards or more apart.
Mile 74.5 (12:09:57) - As I head into food/water station 3 (second hill on E. Dodd Rd.), I lose control and swerve wildly left and then right. Volunteers jump and start to try to move out of the way. I regain control without falling completely as I swerve back left. As a fellow biker pulls up later on, he mentions how I did a good job gaining control. That was close!
Mile 111 (14:14:27) – I am surprised that my family and friends are not in the same spot as before. In fact, I don’t see them at all. Not much passing or being passed at this point.
There’s the penalty tent. Guess there is no penalty for drafting after this point. There are a few in front but I can’t catch them. Averaging only 18.4 given the tiredness and head wind. I don’t think of it at the time, but in hindsight, I should have geared down and increased my cadence considerably in order to prepare for the run.
Family and friends are waiting as I enter the final 50 ft. of the bike.

Rank 480. Total Bike time of 5:51:09

Bike to Run Transition (00:05)

I dismount the bike and I am surprised to discover that my legs are exhausted. I simply can’t run. My legs are way too tight. I pick up my pack and jog to the tent.
I change fairly quickly. I change all my clothes including my socks. This time I have help and it is great because they take care of handing me stuff and then packing back up what I take off. I am tired. Sitting feels good.
I get up and run out of the tent towards the transition area exit. My family is waiting and call for me to do sunscreen. I had missed the sun screeners entirely. I turn and get sun screened.

Run Lap 1 (02:12)

I exit the transition area and begin running but my legs are exhausted and my stomach seems like there is a brick in it. Not sure what it is. Ugghhh!
I see Todd and his children on the way out and also notice the special needs bag area.
I force myself to keep running but my pace is more like 9 min/mile rather than the 8 min/mile I had envisioned.
I reach the turnaround with Andy, Neely, and Dad cheering me on. Andy asks me about eating. My stomach doesn’t want anything.
I cheer on a man who has stopped to stretch or for cramps. (I see him later on as the two of us pass each other a few times.)
I look for the food/drink station so that I can stop and walk.
As I enter back into City Park I see Todd and his family again. Not sure where my family is at.
Run (slowly) past my family and friends.
Going up 1st Ave. has lots of cheering. Wish I could “perform” for them but it is still slow going.
Heading down to the lake, where’s the food station?
At the food station I walk. Pheww. Try the Cola.
Mile 4 (14:52:28) – By now my average pace has dropped to 10:30 miles/min
Next food station is along the fence on 17th St.
Mile 6 () – Stop in the bathroom before the food/water station. I don’t really go but the minute or two of sitting feels oh so great. In fact, once I do hit the road again, I do feel noticeably better as I start running again.
When I reach the hill (between miles 8 and 9) I walk up and then run down.
Right before I turn off of E. Coeur d’Alene Lake Dr., I see Eric heading out for his first lap. I tell him how exhausted I am. He seems in good spirits.
Around mile 12 I notice my toes are “wet” and strongly suspect they are bleeding. (When I finish my suspicion is confirmed.) Cut toenails before race!
Use your first name on your run number and your last name on your bike number.

Run Lap 2 (02:40)

Andy, Neely, and Dad are at the turn around again. They are surprised it has taken me so long. Everyone is surprised I am so far off my time. I have 1.5 hours to finish within 12 hours (total). I could come close if I was just doing a half marathon, but… I have done a lot more than that today.
Andy, Neely, and Dad join me soon after I leave the lake. For the rest of the run, they meet up with me regularly – they are on mountain bikes. I appreciate their support.
At the top of the hill (between 20 and 21) Dad is at the top but misses me. :) Andy finds this very funny and typical of Dad.
Mile 22 (18:21:05) – Andy asks me to stand up in his wedding. He mentions that they haven’t decided about tuxes. I mention that I have a cool tri-shirt. I thank him and let him know that I would love to stand up in his wedding.
I don’t see Eric on the way back. Hmmm…?
Katie Hemenway (our daughters were in the same gymnastic class at Northwest Gymnastics) catches me shortly after my turn off E. Coeur d’Alene Lake Dr. We chat and then I pull ahead of her but she stays behind, cheering me on. I am pretty sure she will catch me on the final stretch but regardless, it motivates me to speed up.
I see John and Greta Underhill sitting on the curb just before the food/water station on 17th St.
I pick up speed a lot as I run down the Sherman Ave. hill.
As I head into the finish, there is lots of cheering.
Family and Friends are in the first row of the stands yelling at the top of their voices but I don’t see them (I am in another world). Next time, stop and take notice and thank them.
I slow down so that they have the ribbon but somehow, they still fail to get it ready.

Just as I decide to cross, Katie runs alongside me so the photo finish wouldn’t have mattered. :)
A medal is placed around my neck as a volunteer begins escorting me. I did the Coeur d’Alene Ironman and all I got was this lousy medal.
The volunteer takes me out of the photo area, hands me T-shirt and hat along with a blanket.
In the future, get two space blankets so that you can lie on one and put the other over. Changing clothes is difficult but it would be good to get out of the wet gear. However, it is no problem walking back into the finish area and getting another space blanket.
I have another photo taken as I let the volunteer know that I am okay and I can make it on my own.
Mom meets me as I exit the finish area. According to Mom, the first thing I said was, “I need to sit down.” Following that, I said, “Where’s Elisabeth?” Mom wanted me to sit down and I said no, not until I find Elisabeth.

Rank 697. Total Run time 4:53:51

Post Race

I asked at the finish line if I could re-cross so as to get a photo finish. They check I don’t have my chip and say go ahead, starting at the family pen. I wish Benjamin was around so I could finish with him. Unfortunately, the photos from this second crossing never show up on the official photo site – at least I can’t find them if they do.
There is a finishers area replete with pizza, military cots, massage, and exhausted athletes. I help myself to plenty of pizza but it seems to just run through my system and I have to go to the bathroom immediately and urgently.
Forgot to cut toe nails. ARghhh!! Don’t do this! Include cutting toe nails on your check list.
Waiting in the Coeur d’Alene resort by the conference rooms is great – bathrooms, couches, and warmth. I waited for Eric to come in.

Eric made it in just after 10 PM. Nice job Eric!!! It is truly amazing when you consider that you just finished an Ironman and a year ago you couldn’t run 50 ft. Wowzers!!!
Back home I weigh myself in at 176.8. That is seven pounds less than the day before. Hmm… water weight? calories? Not sure.
Back Home (11 PM?) - After taking a shower I don’t feel thirsty but I am exhausted, to the point of being too tired to stand up and feeling faint. Time for Bed!!!

2008 Coeur d’Alene Ironman Results for Mark Michaelis

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 05:56:12 GMT

Abbreviated Race Summary:

:) I finished
:) Swim and bike went better than expected
:( I knew within a few 100 feet of the run that something was wrong, and I wouldn’t be able to meet my goal of 8 min/mile – I am fairly disappointed about this.
:) I had an incredible group of supporters that were a huge encouragement.
:) I had the best running shirt out there – thanks to my family
:| I think I will wait until I can walk normally again before I consider another one – regardless, it won’t be next year.

I will re-post more later, but for now, here are the stat’s that folks have been asking me for.

SWIM	BIKE		RUN	OVERALL		RANK	DIV.POS.
1:18:33	5:51:09		4:53:51	12:15:36		697	154
LEG		DISTANCE			PACE	RANK	DIV.POS.
TOTAL SWIM		2.4 mi. (1:18:33)			2:04/100m	957	203

BIKE SPLIT 1: 34 mi		34 mi. (1:40:54)			20.22 mph
BIKE SPLIT 2: 90 mi		56 mi. (2:58:12)			18.86 mph
BIKE SPLIT 3: 112 mi		22 mi. (1:12:03)			18.32 mph
TOTAL BIKE: 112 mi		112 mi. (5:51:09)			19.14 mph	480	122

TOTAL RUN		26.2 mi. (4:53:51)			11:12/mile	697	154

TRANSITION							TIME
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE							7:01
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN							5:02

Training for the Ironman

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 12:24:00 GMT

Training Summary:

Training Period 6/12/2007 – 6/20/2008

Average Hours of training per week 6.47 hours/week

Average hours per week in last 3 months 8.79 hours/week

Total miles swum 40

Total miles run 975 miles

Total miles biked 1588 miles

Note that the time spent per week doesn’t include getting equipment ready, recording training, finding routes, driving to rides/runs, extra showers, etc. In other words, this is just exercise time not all the additional time (and this was significant) spent getting ready fro the Ironman

Graphs

Below are some training graphs for what it took for me to train for the Ironman:

Average and Total hours per week:

The week with over 30 hours included a 29 hour adventure race.

If you just look at the 3 months prior, the average jumps to 8.79 hours/week:

Total Workout Time by Activity (percent):

Run 40%, Bike 31%, Swim 11%, Other 18%

Distance by Activity:

Total Workout Time by Activity (hours):

Bike Helmets Notes

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 13:35:24 GMT

A few weeks ago I crashed while in a line (drafting) and cracked my helmet. I had a relatively inexpensive Giro Havoc helmet, which is the second from the bottom of the mountain bike helmets on the Giro.com site. Before I started training for the Ironman, I hadn’t road biked since high school so, I wasn’t sure whether I should purchase a road bike helmet or a mountain bike helmet. (Will I go back to only mountain biking once the race is over?) It turns out that the only difference between the two is in whether there is a visor or not. Mountain bike helmets have visors, road bike helmets do not. This is amazing to me since you could always just remove the visor (yes, you can just remove the visor from a mountain bike helmet). REI disagrees this assessment with the statement, “Road bike helmets tend to stress lightness, ventilation and aerodynamic styling.” However, the table below (which uses REI’s specs for weight because Giro.com doesn’t include weight ironically) shows this is not the case:

Helmet	Type	Weight (grams)	Vents	REI Cost
Ionos	Road	275	21	$230
Atmos	Road	275	26	$175
Pneumo	Road	290	19	$145
Monza	Road	265	24	$105
Stylus	Road	290	26	$84
Xen	Mountain	298	17	$130
Animas	Mountain	289	27	$105
Hex	Mountain	310	21	$84
Havoc	Mountain	282	27	$64
Indicator	Sport	285	20	$38
Transfer	Sport	270	20	$30

Note:

The difference between the cheapest and the most expensive helmets in terms of weight was 5 grams (.18 oz) while the cost difference was $200.
The $105 Monza road helmet was 20 grams (0.7 oz) lighter than the Ionos at $230.
My Havoc mountain bike helmet is 6 grams (0.21) heavier than the $146 more expensive Ionos road helmet.
The number of vents presumably is not a true indicator of much since the cheapest helmet has only one less vent than the most expensive and frequently (Havoc versus Ionos for example) cheaper models have more vents. When it comes to vents, size is what matters, not quantity – and the difference is only significant in hot weather.
It wouldn’t make sense for Giro.com to show helmet weights if they want to sell there most expensive models.
All the Giro helmets in the sport/road/mountain category used in-mold construction.

Here are some other things I learned:

All helmets are the same when it comes to safety. To test helmets the drop them from various heights onto an anvil. In the end, “at the high end, you will still find big vents and high prices, but no verifiable advantage in impact performance.
Consumer reports bike helmet ratings
“Carbon fiber use is still limited to premium models, limited by fiber price costs. It does allow lighter construction, but there is so little of it used in a bike helmet that the weight saved is minimal except in heavy BMX helmets.”
I found http://www.helmets.org to be a good consumer oriented resource.

Coeur d’Alene Lake Water Temperature

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 05:10:02 GMT

I have searched several times for a report of the Coeur d’Alene Lake temperature to see trends as the Ironman approaches. I came up short each time but Eric Edmonds pulled through with the U.S. Geological Survey site which tracks it on a continuous basis throughout the day. Today it was 52-53 depending on the time of day. Here’s the site:

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv/?site_no=12417610

Finding Mark During the Ironman

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:24:41 GMT

Given the fact that the 2008 Coeur d’Alene Ironman is 140 miles and there are road/lane closures for the bike and run courses, people have been wondering where they can go to see Eric and I most effectively (well… we are hoping that is what some people are wondering.) A cheering crowd will sure help when I am pooped out and lacking motivation (probably after the first 1.2 mile swim lap :).

Towards this effort, I put together a spreadsheet that has our speed/time estimates on it (it is a little faster but just in case). The left column has mile markers and these correspond to the mile markers on the swim, bike, and run maps (we do each course twice which is why the maps only show half of the full distance). Please email mark at michaelis.net if you plan on coming out. Bryan McLelland will be tracking me during the race and updating the spreadsheet as he sees me as well as sending out email/text messages to those that sign up.

Snow in Coeur d'Alene, ID - Swimming anyone?

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:38:51 GMT

So the race is less than two weeks away and conditions are not improving. I did the run loop of the course on Sunday and there were white caps on the lake (not quite like last year's Ironman but white caps none the less). I chatted with a couple brave souls taking a dip and they had nothing but grumbling. :)

Temperature on the lake Coeur d'Alene is about 50 degrees. Not exactly balmy.

To top it all off, the current weather forecast (I am heading out to do the bike loop shortly) is for Snow!

Hmm... says me, I am struggling to see how water temperatures are going to rise with this kinda weather.

To accommodate the temperature, as posted on the website:

Special Information regarding the Swim at the 2008 Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene
June 6, 2008
As many of you are already aware there has been great deal of speculation regarding the swim at this year’s event focusing on cold water temperatures. Due to a record snowpack in the Bitteroot Mountains, which is the source for Lake Coeur d’Alene, we anticipate that the water on race day will be colder than normally encountered. In order to ensure the safety of our athletes, NA Sports is going to make the following changes to the standard Ironman swim rules for this event only:
1.     At temperatures below 60°F wetsuits are MANDATORY.
2.     Neoprene booties (aqua sox, swim sox etc) will be allowed below 60 F°. ABSOLUTELY NO FINS.
3.     We encourage athletes to consider a neoprene hood worn under the issued swim cap for additional warmth. NA Sports will continue to closely monitor the water conditions and always reserves the right to make changes as we deem appropriate with athlete safety the primary factor in our decisions.

Well..., I don't see 60°F happening any time this month. :(

Mark Michaelis’ Ironman Challenge

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 22:31:00 GMT

Mark Michaelis' Challenge

I am participating in the 2008 Couer d’Alene Ironman Competition on June 22 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. In this event I will attempt to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run a marathon (26.2 miles). Using this event, I want to increase awareness for the issue of global hunger and poverty and, through Janus Charity Challenge, I am raising money for World Relief.

If we look back on history, we are repeatedly horrified by atrocities like the Holocaust and flabbergasted by the fact that so many who could have done something, instead stood by on the sidelines and watched. As the first decade of the 21st century draws to a close, I believe that future generations will look back on this one with the same horrified view. In a time where globalization has flattened the world, why is it that in the last 24 hours approximately 30,000 children die due to hunger and easily preventable diseases – extreme poverty. Deaths like this are from simple problems like dirty drinking water or the unavailability of a 20 cent pill that is common place in the U.S. What is remarkable is there are ample resources to solve world poverty – this planet does not have a supply problem, there is no shortage of land or water. To put it coldly, this world has a distribution problem. Fundamentally, however, this is a justice problem. The wealthy few control the rules of the game and the poor are powerless to change that equation and the disparity between the rich and poor is increasing, not decreasing.

In Haiti, you can be horrified by the glaring disparity between the rich on the top of the hill and the slums down below. It causes one to ask, how can the rich be so cold, selfish, and calloused. However, this confronts us with our own hypocrisy: just because we can’t see the poverty, doesn’t make our comfortable life any less unjust. Even if we harden our hearts and ignore how most of the world lives – they still live that way. The fact is, three million people still live on $2 a day and about half of those (1.2 billion) live on less than $1 a day. What does a parent do on $1 a day when it is time to buy a sweater for one of their two children, take their child to the hospital on the bus, or buy food for the family?
If I saw a documentary on my lifestyle in comparison to those in most of the third world, I would be horribly embarrassed. Just because no one has done that documentary, doesn’t make the injustice any less ghastly (just less embarrassing). As a Christian, God says he desires to see me, “...break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts, ...sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families.”¹ It is out of this calling that I have spent time in poverty situations.

In college, I spent a summer living in the inner-city of Chicago teaching disadvantaged children. Another year I spent the summer in the inner-city of Johannesburg, South Africa trying to love those living on the street. I have slept on the streets with the poor in order to have just an inkling of what life is like there. Eleven years ago Elisabeth and I quit our jobs and moved to Mozambique were we worked at a children’s center for orphans and children from the street. I remember going to the hospital in Maputo, Mozambique where I was simply horrified by the conditions in cholera ward. They had an entire hospital building dedicated to a disease for which people were dying in epidemic proportions every day – due simply to the lack of clean water. (More than 1.5m children under five die each year because they lack access to safe water and proper sanitation.) Again, the disparity is glaring. With my comparative wealth, I was able to be vaccinated every six months from cholera while people living in Mozambique were dying in cholera beds (see Figure 1).

I have been confronted firsthand with the reality that the rest of the world doesn’t have a 2+ bedroom house with a garage or even regular meals (never mind dinner eating out). For me, when it comes to buying anything, I always have to ask what better cause could the money go to? Far too often I still end up buying the selfishly and the result is buyers regret – the kind where you wonder if giving the money away wouldn’t have been a wiser spend?

Elisabeth and I have donated regularly to World Relief for almost 10 years. We love their commitment to changing the world one person at a time in the areas where the needs are the most critical. The integrity with which they approach this and their mission to address humanitarian needs holistically is tremendous. They approach this not just by providing disaster relief such as giving food and refugee care, but also by teaching people to become self sufficient through maternal and child health care, a child development program, agricultural support, microfinance, AIDS care and more. It is towards their work that I hope is to raise $30,000 (a dollar for every child that dies each day) and Elisabeth and I will match it dollar for dollar. We will match more if we can raise it.
Donations can be made thru the Janus Charity Challenge. Please join me in making the world a better for those whose poverty is unimaginable for most of us. Consider donating something per mile of the Ironman (140 miles?).

Bloomsday (7.5 run, 1 mile swim, 100 mile bike)

Sun, 04 May 2008 21:38:00 GMT

Well, today was Bloomsday and Eric Brady and I did the usual (bike to Bloomsday and then run the race). This year Eric Edmonds and Andy Anderson joined us.

My time was a personal best:

Finish Time: 0:50:17
Overall Place: 416 out of 42,761
Ran with a pace of 6:44 per mile
The average pace for 37-year-olds was 14:55
Placed 8th among 797 people the same age
Placed 10th among 2,443 people from Spokane Valley, WA
Placed 281st among 33,995 people from Washington
Placed 1st among 2 people with the same last name
Placed 369th among 17,496 males
Placed 5th out of 292 among 37-year-old males

One thing that has become extremely evident for me is that racing is a bit like money. It takes effort to be content and not want to be faster (more). My goal was to be under 7 minute miles. However, I was so close to 50 minutes, that there is a twinge of disappointment that I didn’t get there. Oh well, there is always next year.

Following the race, Eric Edmonds and I biked to the YMCA and swam 1 mile before completing our 100 mile ride for the day.

Body Composition

Sat, 03 May 2008 21:23:00 GMT

While picking up my packet for Bloomsday, I stopped by a booth where they measured body composition using a few questions and a “fancy” scale.

Here are the results:

Weight	191.8 lb
% Body Fat	11.7%
% Body Water	58.9%
Muscle Mass	161 lb
Physique Rating	6 (Standard muscular)
BMR	2225 calories
Metabolic Age	12
Bone Mass	8.4
Visceral Fat	4

Looks like I am still carrying 21 lb of fat. Hmmmm…

Spokane Half Marathon

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:40:36 GMT

Here's a summary of my 2007 Spokane Half Marathon:

Results:

Total Time: 1:35:28
Average Mile: 7:23
Placed overall: 25
35-39 Age Group: 4

Overall, this was a lot better than I expected - my fastest time to date (my longest running race ever and my first half-marathon).

Swimming – I Can’t Help but Laugh

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 11:20:00 GMT

So, in order to make a little more progress on the swim, Eric Edmonds (my Ironman training partner), decides he is willing to give me some pointers. He lives on Hayden Lake so the families get together.

While practicing our swim, Eric stops to watch me and give me some pointers. So, again, I’m in the water swimming madly in order to move another few feet forward and what is Eric’s response. He begins to laugh. NO really, he laughs. When I point out that it isn’t very encouraging he enforces the dismal state of my swimming by informing me that he can’t help it. It really is that funny.

Hmm…. I have some work to do.

Yikes!

The Swim will be Challenging – Kicking Takes Me in Reverse

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 20:08:00 GMT

So if I am going to do the Ironman, I better learn to swim. Here’s how I know:

My son is taking swimming lessons at the local Terrace View pool. After practice I ask his coach, a local high schooler, if he would be willing to give me some pointers in order for me to get ready for the Ironman. He agrees so I stop by later on that week. As I swim my first lap, other coaches stop by in fascination and with helpful suggestions. (Each of them is obviously thinking that I am completely nuts to even dream of swimming in the Ironman – and so do I.) After various suggestions, I get to the point of holding a kick board to practice my breathing. So, there I am, kicking and breathing furiously and what does my “coach” say,

“Fascinating, your going backwards.”

Yup, I Mark Michaelis, who has now signed up for the Ironman, does such a great job with kicking, that he goes backwards, in reverse, the wrong direction. True story!

Yikes!

Keeping a Training Log

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 20:42:00 GMT

Well, if I am really going to do this then I need to keep a log of my training. I have checked out several options and decided on http://mapmyrun.com.

What I appreciate most about this is that you can “draw” in where you go and so, figure out your mileage. You can also view routes of others if you happen to be in an area you are not familiar with or you are just looking for some good places to bike and run (etc).

It also has some cool reports which I look forward to seeing as the day approaches:

So, with that, here are my:

Routes and my
Training Log

2008 Coeur d’Alene Ironman Nutrition

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 20:23:00 GMT

By the morning of the next day after the race (when I could think just a little more clearly), I suspected this had to be a major issue and it was. Below is a listing of what I consumed on the bike (before I started running). I don’t really know what I consumed while running except that I only drank (no eating). Mostly I had Gatorade, a few times it was Cola during the run.

Calories through Swim & Bike (not run)

Item

Amount

Calories

Protein Bars

0.25

145

Perpetuum (scoops)

12

1560

Gatorade Endurance (24 fl oz bottles)

6

900

Banana

1

170

Power Bar

0.5

120

Shot Bloks (bloks)

5

167

Food Total

3062

Swim (miles)

2.4

-616

Bike (miles)

112

-7316

Exercise Total

-7932

Grand Total

-4870

Verification of this problem appears in my weight loss. The day before my weight was 183.8 and after the race it was 176.8 revealing a difference of 7 lbs. Presumably, some of this is water weight although I didn’t feel thirsty so I don’t think liquids was the most significant part of the equation. I didn’t feel hungry either so perhaps “feelings” are not the best indicator - dahhh. I have racked my brain and I can't come up with anything else. Even if I have forgotten some things I ate, it couldn’t have been even 1,000 calories, never mind the 5,000 I was short. (Also, after the race I had roughly 4 pieces of pizza.)

Why so little food? Initially (within the first 10 miles of the bike) I just didn’t feel like eating. My taste buds rebelled against the first bar that I ate. The problem was, I didn’t force it down. Perpetuum and Gatorade tasted fine so I relied on those heavily. I mixed the Perpetuum to a strong, slightly less than a paste type consistency – 6 scoops to a 20 fl oz container. The front compartment of the aero bottle had Perpetuum, which I refilled from my special needs bag. (I didn’t take anything else from the special needs bag – throwing back all the bars/bloks/etc that were in the bag.)

Even when I started my run I didn’t feel like eating. I don’t know why for sure, but I suspect one of the problems was consuming Perpetuum with Gatorade rather than water? Perhaps my stomach wasn’t able to absorb the concentrate of calories? Doesn’t seem probable but I am grasping for something. I didn’t use Perpetuum in much of my training (it’s kinda pricey), perhaps my stomach just wasn’t used to it. I recall running 4+ miles after one 3 hour ride that I did use Perpetuum and I did have the feeling of food sitting in my stomach rather than being absorbed. I had the same feeling when I started running during this race but it wasn’t something I noticed while biking. Hmmm…

Mistakes (besides just plain old stupidity):

Why didn’t I tally up the number of calories I was eating versus what my body needed during the race?
Why didn’t I have an accurate count of the total number of calories I was burning (all I had was a rough estimate of 700-800 calories per hour but according to mapmyrun.com, it should have been 8000 by the time I finished the bike.
Why hadn’t I worked the Gatorade and Perpetuum into my calculations of calories while training so that I knew just how insufficient they were?
During my training I generally under consumed calories and didn’t notice an issue. I didn’t mind since I was trying to loose weight so under consuming was desirable. Why didn’t I try the full swim and bike so I could see the combined effect? (The answer is that I didn’t think the swim would affect me much since I didn’t kick significantly. I had ignored the fact that the nutrition aspect.)
Why didn’t I train multiple times with the Perpetuum and Gatorade combination?

Was my poor nutrition preparation and under consumption to blame for my poor performance during the run? At first I thought yes. However, according to Mark Allen, we can’t absorb more than 500 calories per hour. Since I didn’t consume anything on the swim, 3000 calories over a 6 hour bike period is perhaps the best I could do. Furthermore, according to Andrew R. Coggan in this article, amounts larger than 300 “don't seem to be any more effective in improving performance in laboratory experiments.” Ben Greenfield’s Kona Ironman plan indicates similar calorie amounts (actually, slightly more and he weighs less). Given my exhaustion immediately after biking, I suspect I under ate and drank. Since I didn’t need to use the restroom for my entire bike ride, I don’t think I over ate or drank.

Oh well, no more Ironmans next year and I want to get a 5 hour half-Ironman and an under 5 hour bike under my belt before I try another Ironman regardless.

It only takes $500 and Stupidity

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:00:00 GMT

Okay… a few weeks ago, the Edmonds and the Michaelises were having dinner together. Eric and I were chatting outside and the topic of the Ironman came up. Not sure exactly how it happened, but when I woke up that morning, I distinctly remembered that Eric and I had committed to doing the Coeur d’Alene Ironman.

That’s: 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile rune (a marathon). As my high school math teacher taught me, “It will be like poking yourself in the eye. It feels really good to stop.”

What do you know, to sign up you just have to be their the day after the race (you wouldn’t believe how many crazy people there are that want to do this race), $500, and a significant level of insanity.

As Eric leaves the house to sign-up, he calls to his wife, “Well, I’m going to go and bet $500 that I can loose 50 pounds in the next year.”

All this to say, I am signed up for the Ironman… Yikes! My experience: Never swum more than a mile, never run a marathon, never biked 100 miles in one day. Should be “interesting.”

Better start training…

Ski-boarding Season Started

Wed, 22 Dec 2004 06:36:35 GMT

The weather in Seattleland has been wet for several weeks. Unfortunately, the temperatures have made the wetness very conducive for rain rather than snow. :( Today my brother and I left Kirkland in a significant downpour. The destination: Mt. Baker and the hope that the conditions would be different. By the time we arrived on the slopes it was snowing indeed and we had a good day of boarding. Here's my brother grabbing some air:

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to make my snow-angel making look as spectacular or I would display those shots too.

In spite of our enjoyment for the slopes, we couldn't help but look with longing towards Mount Shuksan and contemplate the possibility of making that a future conquest.

Although less realistic because of time, the entire knife ridge coming off the left of Shuksan (but not shown) looks like a great climb.

Completing a half Ironman - TROIKA

Mon, 02 Aug 2004 09:35:31 GMT

Yesterday I competed in a TROIKA, a half Ironman (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run). My goal was to finish and finish I did. Wahoooo!!!

Summary:

Swimming is tons easier with a wet suit.
Flat tires don't magically fix themselves when you pump them up. You must fix the flat or change the tire. Duh!
Energy bars are too chewy to eat while biking. I imagine that energy goo would be a lot better.
The race is significantly harder without any support from folks you know, cheering you on, collecting your gear, providing encouragement, pushing you not to take it easy, etc. Along the way were chalk writings on the pavement along with spectators spurring contestants on and I am sure having someone you know cheering for you makes a huge difference.
My goal was to finish and at the end of the bike section I was confident I could do this. As a result, I felt fine about walking a significant part of the run. Next time (if there is such a thing) I need a goal that will motivate me to try harder.
Don't use your equipment for the first time on race day. (Another Duh :) )

A full description of my race can be found here.

Upcoming Running Events and Adventure Races

Wed, 03 Mar 2004 22:53:41 GMT

Well, the rest of my Adventure Team is slacking off in helping to choose adventure races for this year. However, as part of my training I have at least three individual runs planed.

Snake River Canyon Half Marathon (13.1 miles): Goal is an unlikely 8 min/mile.
Bloomsday (7.46 miles): Goal is 7 min./mile or under 50 min. total if I can find someone to carry me that fast. )
Troika Half Ironman (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run): Goal is to finish

Below is a list of URLs for Adventure Races. Let me know if you are interested in racing with me since my team seems to be a little on the disinterested side. I am looking for around a 36 hour race or a day race close to Spokane.

Lap	Time
1	0:06:52
2	0:06:45
3	0:06:38
4	0:07:04
5	0:06:38
6	0:07:16
7	0:07:37
8	0:07:05
9	0:08:06
10	0:07:54
11	0:07:43
12	0:08:14
13	0:06:53

Training Period	6/12/2007 – 6/20/2008
Average Hours of training per week	6.47 hours/week
Average hours per week in last 3 months	8.79 hours/week
Total miles swum	40
Total miles run	975 miles
Total miles biked	1588 miles

Calories through Swim & Bike (not run)
Item	Amount	Calories
Protein Bars	0.25	145
Perpetuum (scoops)	12	1560
Gatorade Endurance (24 fl oz bottles)	6	900
Banana	1	170
Power Bar	0.5	120
Shot Bloks (bloks)	5	167
Food Total		3062
Swim (miles)	2.4	-616
Bike (miles)	112	-7316
Exercise Total		-7932
Grand Total		-4870